Land use - wind power

The Ministry of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship is responsible for managing the allocation of Crown land resources for wind power on behalf of the Province of British Columbia.

On this page

• Environmental Assessment
• Application documents
• Who may apply?
• Type of tenure
• Fees and costs
• Special requirements

The province is committed to working with industry and other key agencies to enable a coordinated approach to the development of wind power projects. These projects seek to balance industry and broad provincial interests. 

Land use and operational policies of other agencies, including BC Hydro are also applicable where their legislation provides for jurisdictional responsibility.

Environmental Assessment

A proposed clean energy project may also require an Environmental Assessment under the Environmental Assessment Act, which is led by the Environmental Assessment Office.

• Learn about the EAO's Environmental Assessment Process

Application documents

In addition to reading the information on this webpage, the following documents should be reviewed prior to submitting your application:

• Wind Power Policy (PDF, 234KB)
• Clean Energy Guidebook (PDF, 4MB)
• Best Practices on Wind Power Acoustic Assessment (PDF, 450KB)
• Land Procedure – Acoustic Assessment (PDF, 195KB)
• Guidelines for Wind Turbine and Weather Radar Siting - Environment Canada

The following documents must be completed prior to submitting your application:

• Crown Land Application
• Wind Power Requirements List/Development Plan Information Requirements (PDF, 180 KB)
• Investigative Plan template (if applicable) (DOC 36KB)

Who may apply?

To apply for a wind power tenure, you must be:

• A Canadian citizen or permanent resident at least 19 years of age
• A partnership or corporation registered in the province of B.C.

Type of tenure

Windpower projects on Crown land are authorized by two types of Crown land tenure. At the initial or investigative stage an investigative licence is issued for up to 5 years to allow for site investigation and to obtain information required to complete the development plan for project initiation.

At the project initiation phase, a multi tenure instrument is applied for and it combines a number of previously available tenure rights under one tenure instrument. It is issued for the period that corresponds to the electricity purchase agreement period of up to 40+ years. If an electricity purchase agreement is not obtained then the term is limited to 10 years in most circumstances. 

Fees and costs

You'll be required to pay an application fee, as outlined in the Crown Land fees schedule (PDF, 49KB), as well as rental fees.

Rents are determined based on the type of rights being transferred and land values.

• Rent for an investigative licence is $675 per year
• Rent for rights associated with a multi tenure instrument are broken out by use - licence of occupation rights are calculated at 7.5% of land value, a lease is 8%. For uses that are similar in nature to utilities, rent is 7.5% or 8% of zone land value based on different rights being issued

Special requirements

For amendments to existing investigative plans please complete and submit prior to work taking place:

• Investigative Plan Notification (PDF, 233KB)
• An applicant for a right of way or easement should obtain the written consent of any Crown lessee, licensee or right of way holder across whose tenure the development is to be built
• In the case of aquatic utility projects, the upland owner's consent is required if the tenure will affect access to deep water from their property
• The most common reason for delay is submission of an incomplete application, which is then returned to the applicant
• If your application is accepted, you will be notified if Advertising is required. Please wait for confirmation before advertising.